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One thing that several have hinted at here but we
really haven't dug into is the effect that course design has on metabolic
failure. Angie has suggested several times her fears over the long loops
and short/few holds at the WEG, as have others. I'd submit that the course
may have been appropriate as designed HAD IT NOT BECOME A QUAGMIRE! Our
own completing riders have commented that they backed off expecting to pick
up the pace later, and then couldn't. Such a quagmire is MUCH more
conducive to fatigue than is a hard course. Ride management, even at a WEG
level, have to be willing to make changes based on abrupt changes in the
course. Given the change in footing, the course became a VERY fatiguing
course, on which it would have been far easier to excessively fatigue a horse
without realizing it, especially if one had never ridden under such
circumstances. (For once, you Floridians used to deep sand would have had
an advantage!) The course as it became due to the rain really did need
more and longer rest stops. While it might not have been possible to add
more at the last minute, the holds that did exist could have been made longer by
a meeting of the veterinary committee, stewards, and ground jury. It is
disappointing that that wasn't done, as there should have been enough experience
among that group to anticipate the change in difficulty caused by the
weather. Just another thought, and one that should be rammed home somehow
to Michael Stone....
Just an example of how course design affects
appropriateness of holds--I've seen desert rides in the fall run a pre-dawn loop
of 30 miles or so, and have a fairly short hold afterward, and that works
well--the horses are not very fatigued, the weather is cool if not downright
cold, and elongated hold time has horses out shivering in the cold, which is
much worse than proceeding down the trail. By the same token, going up
over the Sierras at the Tevis is a fair stretch, even though it is a similar
distance into Robinson Flat, and there is no question in my mind that the full
hour there is appropriate and needed. Likewise, a tough mountainous
segment in a ride may well need a hold right after, even if it isn't a very long
segment, where in milder terrain, it would be unnecessary. One can't just
look at the mileages and set hold times--one has to look at terrain, footing,
likely weather, and all sorts of things when appropriately designing a
course.
Heidi
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